


Girlfriend By Saturday

by DaniJayNel



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: F/F, Flirting, Kissing, Longing, Modern AU, Side Abi/Libba, Side Tally/Gerit, alternative universe, fake dating au, oblivious gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24183808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniJayNel/pseuds/DaniJayNel
Summary: Unable to admit that she's still single after her last disastrous relationship, Raelle tells Tally and Abigail that she definitely, certainly, truthfully has a very sweet and hot girlfriend. That this girlfriend is the one, and she wants to make sure before she tells people. So Abi suggests they all meet up for pizza and card games, and fuck, Raelle is totally lying.When she bumps into the girl she was stupidly in love with in high school by chance, she mistakes Scylla's interest as friendship, and decides to ask her to be her fake girlfriend. Since Scylla is already in love with her, she can't help but agree.Now the two of them have a week to get to know each other enough to convince Raelle's friends that they're really an item. The problem is, they're already in love with each other, but pretending not to be while pretending that they are.
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 83
Kudos: 531
Collections: Gays in Fort Salem





	Girlfriend By Saturday

**Author's Note:**

> EPISODE 9 Y'ALL. Let's just say that I'm so damn obsessed with this show and its characters and that I definitely cried. I'm so overwhelmed that I decided to post this now instead of my somewhat usual schedule of every Sunday. I just want people to scream about Raylla with me

“What about you?” Abigail asked, glancing over the top of her phone to where Raelle sat hanging off the edge of her couch. 

“What about me?”

Abigail and Tally exchanged a glance. “Tally and I were going on about our wonderful significant others, and you haven’t said a word.”

“So, are you still single?” Tally casually enquired. She leaned forward to grab the chip bowl and dunked a large round chip into their home-made dip. Raelle stared at her and listened to the loud crunch as she chewed, and Tally maintained uncomfortably intimate eye contact as she did so. 

“You know you’re fucking creepy when you do that?” Raelle told her.

“Stop deflecting,” Tally countered. “Answer the question.”

“Do you have a secret girlfriend you’ve been hiding from us?” Abigail pushed.

Raelle swallowed. Her last relationship had ended terribly six months ago, and she’d never heard the end of it from her friends. They didn’t like the girl and they told her from the start that it wouldn’t work out, and Raelle was ashamed that she wasn’t able to see it until it was too late. After that, she’d been pretty burned romantically, and she just wanted to take time to work on herself. 

Which her friends would totally understand, because they were angels, _however_ … Raelle didn’t want to admit that, so she kept faking random hook-ups and bragging about all the girls she was flirting with. About a month ago she slyly stopped doing that and wondered if they would notice, and apparently, they had. It also didn’t help that her work was taking more of her time, so she ended up cancelling a lot of their plans. 

They were suspicious. Raelle didn’t want them to know how pathetic she was.

“Yeah of course I have a girlfriend,” she finally scoffed. She took a long sip of her beer.

“What?” Tally nearly yelled and Abigail had to catch the bowl as it tumbled from her lap. “Why’d you never tell us? What’s her name? Where did you meet?”

Tally continued rattling off far too many questions for Raelle to keep up, but Abigail was giving her a suspicious look. She didn’t believe it. Raelle grinned nervously and finished her drink off.

“Hey, she’s wildly hot and very sweet, and it’s new so I didn’t want to say anything. You guys can be a little intense sometimes.”

“Oh, come on!” 

“Bullshit,” Abigail called. “You’re totally lying.”

Tally took the bowl back. “Abi—”

“I’m not lying,” Raelle interrupted. “I just think she might be the one and I wanted to keep it to myself.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. Tally visibly grew nervous and then exasperated and loudly deposited the bowl back on the coffee table. “Okay,” she announced, drawing their eyes to her, “Let’s all go on a triple date this weekend so that you can introduce this new girlfriend to us. Abi, I’m sure she’s not lying. Rae, I understand wanting to keep a new relationship private for a while. I’m dying to meet her, though. And a little hurt that you’d hide her. So, how does that sound?”

 _Oh fuck_. 

Raelle forced herself to smile and nod. “Perfect.” _Not perfect. Totally not perfect. Fuck._

“Alright,” Abigail relented. “I’m free this Saturday.”

“We can totally have a pizza night at my place and maybe play some cards against humanity.”

Raelle’s smile wobbled dangerously. “Saturday is perfect. My schedule is free.”

Abigail’s eyes narrowed. “Won’t you have to ask your perfect little girlfriend first?”

Raelle shrugged. “I’m sure she’ll be able to make it.”

Thankfully, the conversation switched to something else and the other two were distracted by each other. Raelle sat back and nursed a new beer, and panicked. 

She did not have a girlfriend. Her friends would find out by week end how pathetic and lonely she was, and she had no one to blame but herself. She tried to focus on the conversation, but all she could think about was Abigail’s smug face when she finally cancelled on them and didn’t show up on Saturday, and Tally’s sad little eyes. 

Or… she just needed to find a girlfriend by Saturday. 

* * *

On Tuesday morning, Raelle stood in line at a café close to work to get some coffee so that she could somewhat function despite having had no sleep because of her friends. She idly thought about her absurd plan to somehow get a girlfriend in time for Saturday, but felt ridiculous for even thinking about it. 

Still, if she could at least bring a date she wouldn’t look too stupid. So, as she stood there, she went onto a dating app called _Fiery_ on her phone and started swiping on a whole bunch of girls. She matched with a few and sent them messages, and by the time she sent her third terrible opening pun, she reached the counter and ordered some coffee. 

She elected to ignore her phone while she walked to work so she shoved it into her pocket and then made for the café exit, the hot coffee nestled between her palms. It warmed her hands up and made her feel a little more alive. 

She opened the door and stepped out, but didn’t notice the other person heading right for her. They bumped into each other, Raelle managing to lift her coffee into the air _just_ before they collided but the stranger’s armful of books slipping from their arms.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!”

They crouched down at the same time and reached for the same book, and when they looked into each other’s eyes Raelle’s breath got stuck in her throat.

“Scylla?”

Beautiful eyes widened. “Raelle?”

“I’m so sorry for bumping into you.”

She helped to gather up the scattered books and quickly handed them over so that they could stop blocking the café entrance. 

“That’s okay, I was distracted. I didn’t see you.”

“It was totally my fault. Can I do anything to make it up to you?”

Scylla smiled slowly. “You can pay for my coffee.”

Raelle’s brows lifted. She’d only half-heartedly offered so that she didn’t look like a complete jackass, and by Scylla’s mischievous smile she was very aware of that. But, the offer was made, and Raelle was not so savage as to leave a lady without a coffee after accidentally assaulting her.

“Okay,” she agreed, nodding. “Coffee it is.”

Scylla’s eyes widened. “Oh, I was just joking! You really don’t need to.”

Raelle opened the door and indicated for Scylla to head in before her. “Too late now, the deal has been made.”

Scylla looked like she would argue, but she headed in with Raelle right beside her. They stepped into the line and Raelle took a sip of her coffee. 

“This is going to sound very cliché,” Raelle started, clearing her throat, “but, fancy seeing you here.”

Scylla’s grin was soft. “I transferred here for my job. Do you live in the area?”

“Yeah. Work close by, too.”

“That’s cool.”

The line moved forward, and Raelle started to feel awkward. “You know, I don’t think we ever really talked this much back in high school.”

Scylla’s smile turned a little shy and she curled a lock of dark hair behind a pale ear. “Yeah. I was very… introverted. And you intimidated me a little bit.”

“What, _I_ intimidated _you_?”

“Yeah of course.” Scylla gave her a once over glance. “You can be very imposing. Or well, you were in high school. I’m not sure how much you’ve changed over the last year.”

 _Not really all that much_ , she thought to herself. She was a little less angry, and she had learnt to hold her tongue a bit more when it came to her boss at work, because she needed money to survive and she wouldn’t have a job if she kept fighting with her bosses. Being fired twice in three months had taught her that hard lesson. But she didn’t need to tell Scylla that.

They made it to the counter and Scylla ordered while Raelle paid. They moved to the side to wait, and she took the moment to really look at her.

Scylla had clearly matured. She didn’t seem as guarded as she had at school. They had both taken biology and ended up sitting next to each other, so they were always paired together for partner projects. Back then, they’d never really spoken like friends. Of course, Raelle had developed the most intense crush on her. Actually, she was stupidly in love with her. She remembered how Abigail had always harped on her to confess and ask Scylla out before they left school, but she’d never built the courage to. Sadly, they never spoke again once school was over, but Raelle had always found herself occasionally thinking about her. 

“I’m maybe a little more stable now,” she joked. 

Scylla looked genuinely pleased. “That’s good. Becoming more stable is always good.”

They continued to swap casual conversation, talking about all the things they never said in high school, about what they’d been up to after. Raelle forgot about everything else and was completely consumed by Scylla’s intense eyes and adorable laugh. They ended up standing outside the café chatting for a while, until she received a call from her boss, who was asking where the hell she was.

“Shit,” she grumbled after ending the call. “I have to go. I actually forgot that I have adult responsibilities.”

Scylla, once again, laughed. Raelle could get addicted to her laughter, and that was a rabbit hole she should not fall into again. “That’s okay. I’m late as well. We should really hang out again.”

“Oh, I’d love to!”

“Can I have your number? Are you free tonight? You could come over and I could cook something for us.”

Raelle’s heart fluttered. Was Scylla asking her out? Or was this just a friend date? Before she could get anxious over it, she gave her number and then waved awkwardly in farewell. After that, she raced to work. Luckily her boss accepted her excuse of having bumped into her high school crush and obviously lost all sense of time. 

The day was pretty standard, except she couldn’t stop thinking about Scylla and how seriously beautiful she was, and all of her old feelings were rushing back at her. Viciously. Her boss noticed how spacey she was, and he slapped a hand against her shoulder, scaring the life out of her. 

“Jesus!”

“No, just me,” he chuckled. “You’re lost in cloud 9 there.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry.”

“Why not head out early? I can finish up without you.”

She glanced around the office and her half-finished work. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah of course. You’ll owe me one.”

Rolling her eyes, she packed her bag and then headed out. She lived in an apartment building somewhat close by, so she just walked to work and back. The sky was just starting to darken as she started her trek, and when her phone vibrated, she opened up her messages. Scylla’s name made her heart flutter. 

**Scylla  
** Hey. I said tonight, but I’m off early and wondered if you’d like to come over as soon as you’re done with work?

 **Raelle  
** Right now?

 **Scylla  
** If you can, yeah!

 **Raelle  
** Hell yeah. My boss just gave me off. I can come over literally right now

 **Scylla  
** Your boss sounds awesome. Marry them

 **Raelle  
** Firstly, he’s double my age. Secondly, HE. So, no thanks 

**Scylla  
** Haha, valid.  
 _Scylla sent a location_  
Will you make it alright?

 **Raelle  
** Yeah! It’s pretty close to me. I’ll be there in say, thirty

 **Scylla  
** Gives me time to shower. See you soon!

 **Raelle  
** :)

Excited, Raelle walked faster and headed past her apartment block. By the time she reached Scylla’s, she was puffing on hard breaths. She paused at the stairs and bent over to just catch her breath, and then made her way up. She was really excited to see her again, but she was also really nervous. 

When Scylla opened the door, her smile was soft and beautiful, and the air was sucked right from Raelle’s lungs.

 _God, I’m so fucking gay,_ she thought.

* * *

Scylla couldn’t stop smiling after bumping into Raelle again after so long, and she was in a deceptively good mood as she showered and tidied her apartment. She wouldn’t really admit it, but she had started to get a bit lonely.

Scylla had worried that her decision to move back would be the wrong one, but studying abroad just hadn’t worked for her. She kept missing home, kept thinking of Raelle, and when she realized her heart just wasn’t in the work anymore, she left the university and came home. She had a lot of money that she inherited when her parents passed away, so she was fine living on her own with no job for a while.

She was job hunting, since she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to study anymore. But she had the privilege of being able to support herself perfectly fine while she searched for a job, and she just hoped she could find one that she could put her heart into, not one that made her curse the fact that she didn’t die in her sleep.

Scylla was tired of feeling so miserable all the time. Back in school, her only happy moments were when she was seated next to Raelle in class. She had been very reserved because she was dealing with a lot of grief and depression, but Raelle had such a strong personality, and Scylla had found herself irresistibly drawn.

It was no surprise at all, then, that she realized she was in love. When she realized this, she also realized that she couldn’t carry on the way she was going. She needed to sort her own shit out, because Raelle was such a wonderful person, and if she didn’t make sure that she was in a healthy place on her own, then she could never be healthy for her. Scylla never wanted to burden Raelle with her own issues.

So, she never spoke about her private life or herself, even when Raelle had gently begged her. She always sensed that Raelle was holding back, too, and part of her had really hoped that Raelle would do something wild, like confess to her.

But she never, and Scylla felt like she lost her chance, and so she tried to move on. And then they bumped into each other, and it felt like fate intervened.

When a knock sounded at her door, a familiar skip went through her heart, and Scylla decided that she would finally allow herself to be honest. She was going to tell Raelle how she felt, _still_ felt even now, and hoped that things worked out from there. Even if they just remained friends, she would be lightened from no longer carrying the burden of such longing.

She opened her door to find Raelle standing there, panting lightly and looking a little frazzled. Her hair was wind swept and curled behind her ears, and her eyes were startlingly blue. The second their gazes met, Scylla felt her entire body warm. She tried not to smile too widely, lest she out herself too soon, and she didn’t miss the way Raelle took a sudden, sharp breath. Raelle’s eyes danced all over, from her face down to her thighs and it made her wonder if perhaps she had been a little oblivious when they’d been in school.

“Hey,” she greeted lamely and stepped aside, sweeping her arm in a gesture. “Come on in.”

Raelle waved awkwardly and Scylla thought she was so adorable, even so outwardly nervous. “Hey. Sorry for being all gross, I basically ran here.”

Scylla’s brows furrowed as she clicked the door shut. “You’re _not_ gross, and why did you run? We have all night.”

Raelle still had her backpack on, and she pulled at the straps as she glanced about the room. Scylla listened to the way she puffed on her breaths. “I was a little excited.”

While Raelle couldn’t see, Scylla lifted a brow. When Raelle turned to look at her again, she’d already smoothed her expression out.

“I’m touched. Would you like a glass of water or something?”

“Actually, I think I might need some water.”

Scylla headed to the kitchen with Raelle at her heels and poured some water from a filter into a glass. She added a bit of ice and then set the glass down on the island counter. Raelle was seated on one of the stools, and she groaned softly as she drained half the water in one gulp. Scylla was severely distracted by the noise, and the way her throat worked as she swallowed. She, too, needed to swallow. Suddenly her mouth felt very dry.

Raelle put the glass down and sighed. Her lips glistened from the water until she licked it away, and Scylla quickly lifted her eyes just in time to not get caught staring. “Thanks, I was seriously thirsty.” Raelle glanced into the glass and frowned. “Are these bones?”

Scylla turned and started pulling the ingredients she would need for their meal. “Yes, they are.”

Raelle laughed. “Wow. That’s so cool.”

“What, you don’t think it’s weird?”

“I think it’s very… you, to have bone shaped ice. Most people do lame shit like, skulls or something. But no, you got skeletons and leg bones and is that a tiny skeletal foot?”

Scylla felt herself flush. “Thanks. Not many people get so far into my home to even see my bone ice.”

“Oh. I’m one of the few?”

Scylla grabbed her sharpest knife and set some of the vegetables on the island counter on top of her cutting board. She looked up and gave Raelle a smile. “The first.”

Raelle’s eyes widened. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, and from her stunned expression Scylla worried that she had said a little too much. To hide her fluster, she started to chop an onion and Raelle seemed absorbed by the quick, fluid work of her hands. They remained silent and Scylla got into the flow of chopping, pouring the chopped vegetables and such where they were needed and then starting with the next task. Scylla was at the stove with the food sizzling away when Raelle finally spoke again.

“You’re really good with your hands.”

Scylla shot her a look, smirking lightly. “So I’ve been told.”

Raelle laughed and halfway through, snorted. Her snort only made her laugh again in surprise, and Scylla was too weak not to laugh with her. Raelle was such a ball of sunshine. Sunshine that no doubt would bite, but still, she was warm and welcoming.

 _I’m so fucked,_ she thought to herself as she turned back to the pan.

After that, Raelle started wandering around her apartment, shouting out a question here and there. Occasionally she returned to the kitchen for a sip of water, and then walked out again. Scylla loved that about her, that she was so comfortable here to walk around, pick things up, ask about them. Her curiosity was adorable, and while it would make Scylla uncomfortable were it anyone else, Raelle asking meant that she wanted to know, and that gave Scylla hope.

Scylla lost herself in her usual fantasy of Raelle as she mindlessly stirred the pasta, so she never heard Raelle enter the kitchen again.

“Mm, that smells so good,” Raelle spoke right against her ear, and Scylla startled. She nearly flung her spoon across the kitchen and Raelle’s hands grabbed her upper arms to steady her. “Whoa!”

Scylla laughed and pulled away from her. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

Raelle looked like she wanted to apologize, but also laugh. “I didn’t realize you were so absorbed.” Her eyes flicked away quickly, making Scylla wonder what she wasn’t saying. The food was finished, so she decided to let her curiosity rest.

“If you can grab two bowls for me, we can eat.”

Raelle’s eyes flashed. “Hell yeah!” She quickly rushed away to grab some bowls and once they were dished up, they sat down together in Scylla’s lounge. She had a one-seater and a two-seater, and her heart fluttered when Raelle plopped down right next to her.

“Netflix?” she queried.

Raelle sucked at her spoon after her first bite, groaned and then her eyes cracked open. “Sure.”

Scylla tried to smother her smile, failed, and switched her TV on. She settled for a cute romance—hoping that it would be a subtle hint—and relaxed back. They ate in silence for a while as the movie played out, and Scylla caught Raelle peeking at her whenever she thought she wasn’t looking. It was so cute, how Raelle thought she was being sneaky. Scylla saw everything.

Raelle set her bowl down and sighed in content. “That’s the best meal I’ve ever had, period.”

“Oh, come on, you don’t need to flatter me.”

“No, seriously! Where did you learn to cook like that?”

Scylla set her own bowl down and tried to smile again, but it was forced. A flash of unwanted memories assaulted her, and she considered shutting down, but she didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere. Raelle was being so open to her, and she didn’t want to make her feel bad. Maybe there was also a part of her that just wanted to confide in someone.

“When my parents died, I only had myself, and so I decided to teach myself how to cook so that I wouldn’t eat takeout and ramen noodles every night.”

Raelle’s eyes widened. “I never knew.”

Scylla looked away. “That’s alright, no one did.”

“When did it happen?”

“Grade 12.”

Raelle inhaled sharply. “All that time sitting next to you, and I never even knew.”

Scylla realized that curiously, Raelle never apologized to her. It was the standard thing to do, _I’m sorry for your loss_. Scylla hated it. Why were they sorry? They didn’t do anything. No apology from anyone would undo what was done. Whenever she revealed this to someone, they always grew uncomfortable. Not unless…

“I lost my mother,” Raelle confessed quietly. “Grade 10. I’m still not over it.”

Scylla’s heart clenched. She reached out and rested a hand against Raelle’s, and her heart thudded hard when Raelle turned her hand to press their palms together, and intertwined their fingers. Scylla gave her hand a squeeze.

“You never get over grief.”

Raelle nodded. She looked sad, and Scylla knew that she was remembering things that she didn’t want to. She wanted to feel guilty for bringing this up, but she could only feel grateful that she had someone else who shared this pain with her, who understood this. And Raelle was so pretty, even with her lips downturned and that furrow between her brows. Scylla just wanted to kiss that furrow away, and then travel lower and slide her lips between Raelle’s, taste her kiss and more of her.

Raelle’s eyes lifted and caught her staring, and Scylla took in a shaky breath.

“Scylla, there’s something I want to ask you.”

Raelle pulled her hand free, setting on top of her lap. She suddenly seemed very nervous.

 _Is this it?_ Scylla thought. _Is she going to confess before I do?_

“You can ask me anything.”

Raelle gave her a small smile. “I might be completely ruining this friendship by asking, and I’m a complete idiot, too. Don’t judge me, please. You can also totally say no, because it’s an insane thing to ask.”

Scylla didn’t mask her confusion. “What do you need?”

Raelle took a breath. “Look, I definitely came here because I liked you in school and I’d love to be friends with you again. So don’t think I have ulterior motives.”

“Raelle, just ask me. I won’t judge you.”

Raelle gave her a look. “You will.” She lifted a brow. “Okay, fine. So, I need a girlfriend by Saturday because I’m an idiot and I told my friends I totally have a hot, amazing girlfriend and they want to meet her for pizza and card games.”

Scylla swallowed. Was Raelle using this as a convenient excuse to finally ask her out?

“So, I, uh,” Raelle continued, and she finally lifted her eyes to meet Scylla’s. “I was thinking, would you agree to be my fake girlfriend for this weekend? I know we just met up, but we at least know each other a little. I’d owe you my whole life if you do this for me.”

Scylla felt disappointment crash over her. She made sure not to show it on her face, and instead offered a cautious smile. Raelle wasn’t into her, it seemed. There was no point in confessing, then. Raelle considered the idea of them dating as ‘insane’. At least they could be friends, and Scylla was willing to take that. She would get over these feelings in time.

“Your fake girlfriend?”

Raelle nodded vigorously. “All you need to do is show up at Tally’s with me and we eat some pizza, play some games, maybe get a little drunk. After that, I can tell them we broke up or something. I just… don’t want to admit that I lied to them, or that I was so pathetic that I pretended to have a girlfriend.”

Scylla sighed deeply. Despite the hurt, she already knew her answer. Raelle seemed so stricken, so before she could jump to an apology and possibly bolt, Scylla lifted a hand. Raelle stilled.

“Okay, I’ll be your fake girlfriend. But we’re going to need to do this right.”

Raelle sank back against the cushion of the couch. “What do you mean?”

Scylla levelled their gazes. “Raelle, if I’m meant to be your girlfriend, I’m going to need to know you. How long are we dating for?”

Raelle’s cheeks flushed and she glanced away. “Uh, I don’t know, we could say two months?”

Scylla bit down on her lip. “Hm, okay. We need to make sure we have a basic understanding of each other. Your friends are going to ask us intimate questions, and we don’t want to give them conflicting answers.”

Raelle shifted closer to her, nodded. “You’re so damn smart. You’ve always been super smart. Not to mention beautiful.” She grinned broadly. “You’re going to be one hell of a fake girlfriend.”

Scylla tried not to get too happy at the compliment. Instead she gave Raelle a stern look. “You need to pack a bag and come back.”

“What, why?”

“Because, it’s Tuesday. We have five days to get to know each other enough to pass this relationship off as real.”

“Come on, how close can two people get in just two months?”

Scylla tilted her head. “We’re both women.”

Raelle stared for a moment, and then she nodded quickly and stood. “You’re absolutely right. At three months we’d be ready to get married.” She laughed. “Let me head out. I should be back in an hour or two, depends on how much stuff I have to bring.”

“I can drive you and help. I could also have a tour of your place.” She let herself grin suggestively, and she enjoyed the way it made Raelle squirm. “Since they’ll definitely think I’ve spent many nights by yours.”

Raelle pulled her keys from her pocket and jangled them between her fingers. “Right. Yeah. Makes sense.”

They headed out, and Scylla wondered if doing this was a good idea.

She had to pretend to be in love with the girl she was already very in love with. Very easy. Not suspicious. This wasn’t going to blow up in her face at all.

_Fuck._

* * *

Scylla seemed very focused on getting to know her, and Raelle’s feelings were all over the place. Not only was Scylla making them sleep in the same bed—to grow more comfortable with each other, she said—but she was also making them do everything together. At night and through the day, they quizzed each other on their lives and themselves.

Raelle was in both heaven and hell. It was amazing to learn so much about Scylla, things she never would have known normally unless they grew closer over time. She needed to know enough about Scylla to make their relationship look legit, and that meant she needed to know her in and out. It drove Raelle crazy, and she had to catch herself many times.

Scylla was nice enough to agree to do this, and she didn’t want to make it weird. But apparently Scylla didn’t care about that. To be fair, Scylla was pretty weird already. Raelle was so fascinated by her, and also by the strange interests she had. She liked to collect roadkill and dissolve the body until there were just bones, then she built the skeleton and placed it in a case, on a shelf. Her flat was scattered with them. And she had really weird, dark abstract paintings. Some of them looked so lonely and painful, and it made Raelle really worried for Scylla.

“This is going to make you uncomfortable, but you need to know my sexuality.”

Raelle was busy putting her shirt on after showering. Scylla walked out of the bathroom towelling her hair dry, and luckily she was already clothed.

“What?”

Scylla glanced up at her. In the low light, her eyes looked so dark. They were amused as they regarded her. “Raelle, we’re two months in. We’ve definitely already had sex at this point.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Images vividly flashed in her mind of very inappropriate things. She forced herself to stop imaging Scylla arcing naked beneath her and nodded her head.

“Right. Of course.”

Scylla hopped into bed and patted the place beside her. “So, you need to know the basics of what I like, just in case they ask.”

Raelle swallowed and sat down beside her. Their bare knees touched, and Scylla’s skin was so warm. Raelle felt like her heart was about to jump right out of her chest.

“Where do we start?”

Scylla flopped down onto her back. Raelle opted to stay sitting, so that she didn’t need to look at her and imagine kissing the life out of her, or slipping that shirt off and pressing her—okay, she didn’t need to go there.

“I’ll just give you the basics. I love to kiss, a lot. Biting is really hot, but not too hard that it’s really painful. Just a bit of pain. The skin of my neck is very sensitive, and especially my hips. I’m only loud during sex if it’s really good, and I totally like giving as much as I’m given.”

Raelle’s entire face was burning hot as she imagined all of these things. Scylla sounded so confident and sure. How was she so okay doing this? God, this really wasn’t a good idea. But it was already Friday, and there was no time to back out. Raelle was selfish, too. She didn’t want to lose this opportunity to get to know Scylla so deeply. It was like she found a special cheat code, and she was very reluctant to let it go, even though she was dying of desire and embarrassment.

“Wow.”

Scylla made a noise in her throat. “I say we definitely use a strap. You love to surprise me with it, but you love it to be used on you just as much. We don’t mind having sex on any surface in the apartment, and if we can get away with sneaking away in public, we will.”

Raelle finally glanced over her shoulder. Scylla was grinning at her, and it was such a naughty look. She was doing this _on purpose._ Raelle’s brows lifted, then she decided she would do a little teasing herself. She crawled on top of Scylla with a thoughtful look on her face, and even though she was pretending to do this entirely to learn, she was freaking out on the inside. She let her fingers slide underneath Scylla’s shirt and gently caress the skin at her hip.

“Here?”

Scylla’s look quickly morphed into surprise, and a flush filled her pale cheeks. She swallowed, and Raelle stared at the way her throat moved. Transfixed, she moved in and pressed her lips to the side of Scylla’s throat.

“Here?” she asked softly, voice breaking.

Scylla nodded slightly. “Yeah, right there.”

Her voice was breathy, almost nervous. Raelle pulled away and grinned at her, but then she made the mistake of looking at her lips, and she was drowning in her desire. Without thinking she started leaning forward, her eyes glued to Scylla’s, but then she sat up and cupped Raelle’s cheeks.

“We definitely don’t need to rehearse the making out,” Scylla laughed. “We can improvise if the need arises.”

Raelle scrambled away and got under the covers, her cheeks red and hot. “Yeah, of course. You’re right.”

Scylla studied her for a moment with a strange expression, and then she switched the lamp off and climbed in as well. “Do you remember everything I told you?”

Raelle thought about it. All of their conversations ran through her mind, and she knew without a doubt that she did. Every word. Every little facet of Scylla’s personality and life were burned into Raelle’s heart, and her feelings had definitely gone from just in love to definitely hopelessly, disgustingly in love.

In under a week.

“Yeah,” she eventually replied. “Mostly everything.”

“Me too. Let’s just rely on each other, alright?”

Raelle took in a breath. “Yeah. I trust you.”

“I trust you too.”

They settled in and fell quiet, but Raelle couldn’t sleep. She kept staring up at the dark ceiling, imagining what would happen if she scooted closer, if she drew Scylla in close and kissed her, circled the skin of her hip the way she liked, tasted her moans.

“How do you think we break up?” Scylla suddenly asked. Her voice was quiet, almost-asleep.

Raelle swallowed. “I don’t know, maybe we just want different things?”

Silence. “Mm.” Scylla turned onto her side, her back facing Raelle. “Guess we can go with that.”

Raelle got the odd sense that Scylla’s words were loaded, but she couldn’t figure out what with. All she could do was try to sleep, even though that was the most difficult thing in the world.

She clasped her hands together and squeezed hard, just to resist the urge to reach out for Scylla so close beside her.

* * *

“I never told you the things I like,” Raelle mentioned after a long stretch of silence.

She was incredibly nervous—not because of proving anything to her friends, but of being with Scylla all night pretending to be in love with her, which she already was. Scylla was driving, and she turned to give her a quick glance.

“What things?”

Raelle exhaled. “You know, in bed.”

“Oh.” Scylla stared forward. “Do you want to tell me?”

“I probably should, right?”

“I’m sure I could guess.”

Raelle’s heart skipped. “Why would you guess?”

Scylla shrugged. “I’m perceptive.”

Raelle swallowed. Maybe this wasn’t the best topic to start with, considering they were on their way to Tally’s and in a little bit, they would lay it on really thick. Scylla kept reassuring her that this was fine, that she didn’t mind, but every so often Raelle caught her staring.

Was this really such a good idea? She could stop it. Way before it got too far. Sure, Abi would never let her live this down and Tally would give her those sad eyes and be disappointed, but then she wouldn’t put herself through a night of this.

Raelle decided that she was very weak, and she would go through with it anyway.

The only times they spoke was when Raelle gave directions, and when they were finally parked Scylla joined her in front of the car. She held her hand out, which Raelle just stared at for a moment. Eventually Scylla sighed, rolled her eyes and took her hand.

“They could be looking out the window or something,” Scylla told her. “Holding hands is a normal thing for couples to do, right?”

Raelle worried her palm was sweaty. She shook her nerves off and decided to play it cool and smooth. She happily swung their arms.

“You’re right. Honestly, you’re so good at this.”

They started for the entrance to the apartment building. “What, pretending to be someone’s girlfriend?”

Raelle snorted. They made it inside and stepped into the elevator. She stabbed the button for the third floor.

“No, I mean like, good at thinking about the logistics. Things I didn’t even consider. I would have just met up with you again here, but you thought about us needing to actually get to know each other properly.”

Scylla stared straight forward. Her hand felt so good. Raelle wanted to pull it up to her chest, but that was weird. Even though they were in the elevator alone, and they were holding hands, the show hadn’t really started yet.

“I tend to overthink things,” Scylla finally told her. The doors opened and they stepped out.

“Man, I’m really lucky that I bumped into you again.”

Scylla didn’t reply, but her smile was a little weird. She was still so beautiful with her hair let down. Raelle could just stare at her for hours—forget visiting Tally, they could just go back to Scylla’s and she could lay in bed and watch her. Totally not creepy.

They paused in front of Tally’s door and Raelle took a moment to get her bearings. She was only so nervous because Scylla made her nervous. These feelings were very strong, and Raelle was pathetically bad at hiding her feelings sometimes. Scylla was absurdly perceptive, and Raelle was surprised she hadn’t realized it yet. She both hoped that she did, and prayed that she didn’t figure out the truth tonight.

“Hey!” Tally greeted after yanking the door open once they knocked. “You made it! And you!” Her eyes went wide in excitement at the sight of Scylla. “You’re here too!”

Scylla gave her such a sweet smile. “Of course. Raelle’s told me so much about you. I wondered when she would finally introduce me.”

Raelle grinned. “Tal, this is Scylla. Do you remember her from school?”

They were ushered inside and Tally stared at Scylla thoughtfully. Honestly, Raelle was a bit surprised that she didn’t remember. When she did, her eyes went wide.

“Wait, _the_ Scylla?” she asked, nearly gaping.

Raelle tried not to shrink away in embarrassment. “Yes, there’s only one Scylla! Where’s Abi?”

Tally thankfully let it drop, likely sensing that Raelle did _not_ want her to continue with what she was definitely about to say.

“Oh, she went with Gerit and Libba to get some beer. I forgot to stock up after last weekend.”

So that left them alone with Tally, and she looked like she was bursting with questions. Scylla gave her hand a little squeeze, so she looked at her.

“You okay?” she asked softly.

Raelle nodded. “Just nervous.” _Because you’re here, and I’m holding your hand, and I’m supposed to pretend like I fake love you._

“Gerit has this movie that he really wants to watch, so I figured we could do that and play some games after?”

Scylla beamed. “Sounds perfect. I love movies, and Rae mentioned there would be pizza.”

Tally gave Raelle a pointed look. “Yeah! Rae, can I get your help with making our dip?” Her eyes flicked to Scylla. “Alone?”

This was it, the first interview. Raelle tried not to roll her eyes as she nodded. “Sure.” Scylla let her hand go, but then she grabbed her collar and pulled her in close.

“Don’t be gone too long,” she husked softly, and then she dipped in and kissed her, and Raelle nearly saw stars. When Scylla pulled away she nearly followed her lips, and she had to catch her balance for a second.

“Okay,” she blurted out a little dumbly, and then she followed Tally out of the lounge and into the kitchen. Her mind had been wiped completely blank.

“Wow,” Tally finally started, grinning. “You look like you could float right through my ceiling right now.”

Raelle couldn’t get the sensation of Scylla’s lips out of her mind. “Yeah.”

“So, Scylla?” Tally finally whirled around, nearly squealing. She rushed Raelle for a hug and bounced up and down. “I can’t believe it!”

Raelle laughed. “Yeah, okay. Calm down. Please don’t say anything to her, alright?”

“I mean, you’re already dating!”

“Yeah but, we haven’t shared everything yet.”

Tally seemed unimpressed. “Okay, grumpy. I won’t ask more because I’m sure Abi will disown me if I do without her. Now help me make the dip.”

“Wait, you were serious?”

Laughing, they quickly finished the dip and then carried that and bowls of chips out. Scylla was by the window, gazing out at the parking lot below. Raelle went over to her and, figuring she could get away with it, wrapped her arms around her from behind. Tally made a noise of delight from the couch.

“Are you really okay with this?” she asked.

Scylla exhaled and leaned into her. “I’m fine.”

The front door suddenly burst open, and the last three to join them arrived while playfully arguing and swinging around colourful insults. Gerit gave Tally a kiss before he went to the kitchen to put the beers away, smiling at them in greeting. Abigail and Libba plopped down on one of the couches and Abigail immediately noticed them.

Raelle felt satisfied when Abigail’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Holy shit,” Libba exclaimed, failing to hide her genuine surprise. “The girlfriend is real.”

Raelle opened her mouth to say something rude, but Scylla suddenly cut in front of her and grabbed her hand. Her smile was sweet, but it was edged with a threat.

“Scylla,” she introduced herself without waiting for it to be done for her. “Rae has told me so much about you guys.” Raelle really had, cramming as much info about her friends into their absurd study seasons as she could. She wondered if Scylla would remember everything. “I hear you thought I wasn’t real.”

Libba snuggled into Abigail and focused her attention elsewhere, realizing this wasn’t her pot of tea. Scylla was looking at Abigail, and the two of them stared for a long, silent moment. Abi’s eyes were narrowed in suspicion. 

Scylla was clearly playing the part of the offended girlfriend, and Raelle was kind of into it. She went over to the couch, tugging Scylla with her and they sat down. “Down, girl,” she told Scylla in a laugh.

Scylla finally looked away from Abigail’s intense glare, and then she leaned in and kissed her. Just like the first time, Raelle’s mind went blank and her entire body tingled. Scylla put a little too much effort into the kiss, and they only pulled apart when Tally cleared her throat. Abigail was still giving them an unimpressed look. As soon as Raelle’s brain solidified again, she sent Abi a look. 

“So how did you two meet?” Abigail cut in before Tally could announce what movie they were watching. 

“We bumped into each other at a cafe,” Scylla answered truthfully. They’d decided to go with some of the truth, though they were stretching the details. “I asked her over to dinner, and we’ve been dating since.”

“You look familiar.”

Scylla tilted her head. “We went to the same school.”

“Scylla…” Abigail glanced away, thinking very hard. Raelle started to panic. She knew exactly what Abigail was going to say the moment she remembered, and Raelle saw the look of realization the second she had it. “Holy shit, Ramshorn?”

Scylla’s brow creased slightly. “Yeah.”

At that, Abigail finally seemed to relax. She wound an arm around Libba to draw her closer. She gave Raelle a look that said _damn, I’m impressed_ , and Raelle really hoped she wouldn’t say it.

“So she finally confessed to you, huh? I’m impressed. Never thought it would happen.”

She said it.

Scylla stiffened and Raelle wanted the couch to swallow her whole. They were holding hands but she wished she could pull away. That would be suspicious, though, so she just laughed nervously and played it off. Thankfully, Scylla just smiled and played along, and Tally finally told them what movie they were watching. Raelle didn’t even register what she was saying.

The moment the lights were out, Abigail bent her head and Libba met her halfway. They giggled as they kissed, and Tally shot them annoyed looks. 

Raelle’s heart stuttered when Scylla suddenly nuzzled against her jaw. 

“What was she talking about?” she whispered softly. The wash of her warm breath made Raelle swallow. 

“Just, uh, it’s not that important.”

“Raelle, tell me what she meant. You owe me, remember?”

Fuck. She was right. Raelle forced herself to relax and shivered when Scylla gently kissed her neck, as if she somehow already knew.

“In school I had a massive crush on you,” she finally admitted quietly. Scylla went still.

“Had?”

Raelle shifted and drew their joined hands onto her lap. She closed her eyes and hoped that this wouldn’t mess everything up, that Scylla wouldn’t stand and storm out of there, disgusted. She sucked in a breath, and then she took the plunge.

“Still have a crush on you.”

Scylla’s lips pressed to her jaw. “Good.” Then she pulled away and settled in, her arm around Raelle’s shoulders, and focused intently on the movie. 

Raelle stared at her, confused. She wanted to say something but knew not what. Was she losing her damn mind? Was she hallucinating? Was Scylla’s smirk because she was going to tease her for her feelings? Or…?

After the movie, they finally dug into the pizza, chips and beer. Tally grabbed her deck of Cards Against Humanity and as they played, their group flung a multitude of questions at Scylla as if this was an interview to see if she was good enough. 

To her credit, Scylla answered them perfectly. Raelle was a little in awe at how much she seemed to remember, but then she noticed the things Scylla started saying that were never in their conversations. Little things that Raelle never mentioned to her, but she must have noticed on her own. Raelle noticed the way Scylla was looking at her, and how there was no way that look could be fake. 

By the end of the night, everyone adored Scylla and they were completely convinced. When the two of them left, Raelle was in a bit of a daze. She gasped softly when they got to Scylla’s car and she was pressed against the door. 

“You still have a crush on me, right?”

Raelle stared into Scylla’s soulful eyes. “Yeah,” she croaked out.

“Me too.”

“Wait, what?”

She didn’t answer, and instead Scylla was kissing her again. Raelle didn’t like that Scylla seemed to keep shutting her up with this dastardly, but very effective move. She twisted them around so that she had Scylla pressed against the car, and then she grabbed hold of her hips and caressed the skin there. Scylla let out a soft gasp.

“Are you telling me that my fake girlfriend has real feelings for me?”

Scylla’s lips curved against hers. “I’ve been in love with you for years, and when I asked you out for dinner I meant it romantically.”

“Oh my god.”

“And then you asked me to be your fake girlfriend.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Scylla shrugged. “I thought you were only asking because you didn’t feel that way about me.”

Raelle burst into laughter. She pressed their foreheads together and Scylla gently cupped her jaw.

“Two idiots, already in love, pretending to be in fake love.”

“Sounds like us, yeah.”

“Would it be bold of me to ask if you’d like to remove the fake from girlfriend?”

Scylla hugged her close. “It would be.” She sighed. “But I’d love that.”

“I’d say I’d love to get to know you better,” Raelle started, pulling away so that she could look into her eyes, “but I think I know you quite well already.”

Scylla lifted a suggestive brow. “Do you really?”

Raelle’s mind flashed with dirty images and her breath caught. She saw the challenge for what it was. “Not at all,” she finally breathed. “Are we going to fix that?”

Scylla pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Let’s head home, and we’ll see.”

 _Home_. That was a word Raelle could definitely use with Scylla. She scrambled to get into the car, and once inside she slammed her seatbelt in. Scylla laughed at her eagerness, but she couldn’t help it. 

Scylla’s smile was like sunshine, and her laughter was the most beautiful song. _Home_ , certainly. 

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to come and yell at my tumblr danijaynel


End file.
